I know I’ve shown a couple of these images before…but looking at them in totality made me feel like I wanted to share them as a group. Cuz they are so cool. And Mary is so cool. See — she waited and thought about having pics done with her horse and dog for two years — before she made the decision to hire me. Our pets are not around forever — and you know — i get this because my beloved dog lulu is nearing 11 — and it’s so hard. so hard to think that someday she won’t be there to snore at my feet. So it always touches me to see what strong relationships and bonds people develop with their pet family. I was so honored to be a part of this.
And the images are SMOKIN’!!!!!!!!!!

and…what about THIS!!

Oh. And in case you were wondering? Here’s what Mary had to say about this. (hey. she said I could, right? so I AM!):
OH MY GOD!! MY LITTLE JOE!!
wow, that is soooo coool!! i’m am just about bawling looking at those!
they DO ROCK, they are just full of emotion! and look at little joe’s smile. oh my God. wow. you really did such an awesome job Tammy, thank you so so so much! you caputred the love for sure, wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to do it! and that really is not that easy to do, when you have not ever met the person, dog or horse before!!
You’re awesome Tammy!! Thank you so much for your talent and effort. That’s why I picked you – because your eye captures the emotion, and the “real” moments. Thank you for that excellent christmas present you just gave me of a WHOLE blog post, whoa!! You’ve totally made my whole day, week, and winter…I’m going to just be salivating over these images for weeks & months to come! Thank you for understanding my love for Kill & Patty, and having the heart to capture it. Your work is just amazing!
I can’t wait to give you a hug in person,
WITH MUCH LOVE,
Mary
(ps…feel free to use any of my comments for testimonials if ever needed!)
I admit it.
You are hearing it here first.
I am utterly and completely addicted to color. Vibrant, muted, pastel, jewel…it doesn’t really matter. Colors just SING to me. Every day.
A lot of my clients worry when the weather is bad…and you know what my response it? It’s perfect. Cloudy = soft beautiful light and VIBRANT colors. Fall weather? Bring it on baby. LOVE the light and color at this time of year.
I think if you spend enough time looking at what I do (like me… because…yeah. duh.) you’ll start to see some common things emerging:
First: I LOVE people. I love interacting, talking, playing, laughing, goofing around. I think that shows up in the images. Typically my clients are very comfortable with me and if they are NOT — they’ll tell you it doesn’t take long for that to go away. I’m a button pusher. If you’re shy I push you to be in front…if you’re loud — I might make you do some quiet beautiful shots…it’s just…fun to play. That’s the only way I can express it.
Second: The color thing. I can’t help but put people in colorful settings and SURROUND them with it. And the funny thing is? I can’t tell you how I do it. I am not consciously looking for it — it’s just so much a part of how I see things that it just happens. I love that part. It’s why taking photographs is so magical to me.
Third: Not soooo traditional. ::laughing:: I can do traditional. I have done traditional…but always just a leeetttllle bit of tammyitis sneaks in and they have some strange little twist. Again. Can’t explain it better than that. I want my images to say something. I want you to look at them and laugh or cry or FEEL something. Traditional photography — wedding photography — is a little flat for me. I want emotion darn it! EMO-SSSHHIIOON. ::laughing::
So. There is my soap box for the day. It’s fun, blogging. I love thinking about what I want to say and how I am going to say it. I love choosing images to help me show you how amazing my clients are. And I LOVE when you COMMENT! ::wide cheesy grin::
Here’s What’s Happened in Tammy’s World This Week:
A wedding in which the entire wedding party CONVINCED ME ( it’s ALWAYS the other way around) that they could climb into a dry creek bed for photographs. I was worried. High heels + Little Stones = Tammy Worry But it turned out incredibly. LOVE the light and the viewpoint. This wedding rocked the house. Wait until you see the slideshow — details were off the HOOK by Stacy K. (duh).
A portrait session with the coolest girl who wanted to document her love for her horse and her dog. They’ve hung together for years and she decided (I think she told me it took her two years? OMG) that it was time to get photographs — she loves taking pics too — but as with all of us — there are no pics of HER in the ones she takes. So this was her opportunity to be on the other side of the camera. And the farm. And the fields. And the barn. I was in HEAVEN.
An impromtu — hey can you photograph a civil ceremony on a Tuesday? wedding. This couple cracked me up. We’d never met. It was POURING and somehow we rocked out the images. Nevada was GORGEOUS. And they were totally into letting me be creative. So even something so simple — turned out amazing. I’m so glad they hired me. I took one of my all time favorite images at their wedding. Can you tell which one it is? Seriously — did you KNOW City Hall looked like that on the inside?! I thought we were in an Italian Villa!
An Engagement session in which I did absolutely nothing but laugh and watch two people have fun with their dog and their boat. And yep. I ended up in the water (just mid calf, nbd). But it was a moment when I was thinking…WHY DID I WEAR A SKIRT?! WHY TAMMY WHY? (Answer: no clean laundry. oh wells. ) Also…one of the shots (I’ll let you guess which one) made me laugh so hard…omg.
A wedding with a couple who just lit up the day with their happiness. I LOVED photographing them. And her father’s backyard? Seriously? Crazy. They were super good sports about all my crazy ideas — and I LOVE what we did that day. The images rock.
Also – I’m finishing up senior season and maybe, just maybe I’ll do a load of laundry this week. It could happen! (stop laughing. it COULD! ::grin::)
Here’s this week’s crazy in the VIZ:


Oh PS: If you’ve gotten this far then you’ll notice that I also went to a football game. it was cold. and my big fancy lense was USELESS from far away. So I amused myself by photographing the entire game from the tops of the player’s heads. Cuz you know. It was fun. The image above is one of my favs. Touchdown!!
Here we are. The absolute HEART of busy season. I don’t know if you know this about me — but I follow over 500 blogs daily. (I know, right? Srsly.) I don’t read them every day — but I do know this — that right now is when you find your favorite bloggers — photographers especially — sort of trail off into silence…or a post begging you to understand how busy they are. ::grin::
So I am blogging to tell you: I am busy. I am blogging. And I am here. Crazed. But here.
This week (okay. last week. I am a wee bit behind in most things in my life. ::grin::).
Here’s all the fun stuff I got to do:
Jess and I re-wrote the FAQ section on the blog. That sounds boring, doesn’t it? But truly, it was fun to work with Jess on it and fun to see it all come together so awesomely (is that a word?)!
I put together some FUN AND CRAZY WEDDING SLIDESHOWS for Kelly and Dan, Brooke and Dave, and Bethany and Patrick. But only check them out if you’re serious. My slideshows are long and elaborate and I am in love with every single one of them. Also – let me know what you think — cuz I’m still working on a format…
A 70th birthday party with a PUPPY and BOYS and LAKE and SAND. Could the day have been more perfect? I think not. It was so much fun!
Seniors. If you are looking at my photographs and thinking – wow. I love those – I need Tammy to take MINE ( or my son/daughter or my neighbor who’s a senior or the girl in Ontario) — my answer: get.on.the.calendar. My sessions are booking so fast my head is spinning. But there’s still some. Grab one. that’s all I’m saying.
And for the record: when did seniors get so sophisticated and beautiful? I know. a definite fact. That I NEVER looked so good. And my senior pictures? Big ol’ zit right in the middle of my nose. The Rudolph Series. Nice. ::laughing::
An AMAZING WEDDING with two families that were beyond wonderful. And a couple of silly fun incidents (hello — the priest almost fell on me!) that made taking photographs EXTRA fun!
A guitarist with dreams of making it big and writing his own music. Rock on!
A family of girls so beautiful that I could NOT take ONE bad picture. Not one.
Did I mention the PUPPY yet? OMG.
I love this time of year. One of my photo buddies said — you know Tam, you use sun flare A LOT — but somehow…I never get tired of it! Right?! I NEVER get tired of it! So stay OUT SUNSHINE!
Here’s my recap in the VIZZUUUAAALLLL:


So. This week.
Here’s the cliff note version:
wedding. fun. pink. amazing sunset. (you’ll have to wait for those however. they’re still a secret. ::grin::)
senior Bryanna with the most.amazing.hair.and.blue.eyes.ever.
crazy fam session that included sand eating (8 month old) and falling into the lake (3 year old). Yep. I laughed the entire time. So freaking cute!
a pair of adorable Llapso’s and their moms and a great sunset. but lots of mosquitos. You’d be surprised at how many mosquitos I have to photoshop off people’s faces at this time of year. srsly.
an engagement session that started with a soccer ball being kicked quite dramatically at the poor fiance. And yep. My suggestion. Luckily Victor didn’t actually HIT her with the ball. But I made a note to self: bad idea. ::grin::
Whirlwind week. New ideas. New components that I can hardly wait to share with you…but I must. Self restraint is never good for me — but I am trying to improve as I get older — so you’ll have to stick with me and see when it rolls. But I mean it — so cool.
Without further ado…I give you: this week in pictures. Sort of. this week in sneak peeks for clients.


6.07.2011
Beautiful, Tammy. Thank you for sharing such a personal part of your life. This tribute to Lulu is amazing. RIP Lulu, and my thoughts are with you Tammy. <3
6.07.2011
I’m sooooo sooo very sorry, Tammy! I loved Lulu! She was such a good dog!
6.07.2011
Oh Tammy, I’m so sorry for your loss! I know how loyal and loving dogs are, and what a big part they play in their humans’ lives. I’ve never been a dog person but I’m definitely a Myla person – better yet, I’m Myla’s person. My puppy gives me so much joy I can’t even imagine life without her even though I hope not to have to think about it for another 15 years at least. Hang in there, hugs!
6.07.2011
Beautiful, Tammy! I am so sorry for your loss. You did a great job describing her, I almost feel like I know her now. The photos are precious and priceless!
6.07.2011
I am sorry
sending big virtual hugs!
6.07.2011
Thank you for sharing that, Tammy. I am so sorry for your loss, but know what you mean about having had the time with a pet being so worth any pain at the loss. We nearly lost my Buddy a couple months ago and not a day goes by that I don’t say “Thank you so much, Buddy, for surviving. My thoughts are with you.
6.07.2011
Thank you for sharing with us. It is so sad when we loose what we love & which we find comfort in….. I had a special cat who was this to me…. It’s been 2 years and I still grieve him and miss him terribly. It’s one of those once in a lifetime relationships and yes, we have to remember all the joy & love, because if we think about the loss. the grief. I’m afraid this would be way too overwhelming they wouldn’t be there to help us through it… I’m so glad you have these wonderful pictures…. There will be days when you Lulu is not here…..those are hard….. I hope your remembrances of the devotion of Lulu will get you through it……. Hugs to you……
6.08.2011
Even though its never long enough, I am so glad you and Lulu had eleven great years together! My thoughts are with you!
6.08.2011
Tammy, I’m so sorry to hear about Lulu. Sounds like you gave her a wonderful life and she blessed yours as well. XOXOXO
6.08.2011
Tammy…..we are so sad for you….losing your precious pup LuLu….our wonderful dog Rufie has terminal cancer…he is the best ever!!! We are sucking up every single nano-sec we have while he is still here with us. We wrap out hearts around you. Your beautiful heart-felt images of Lulu had us in tears…..
6.13.2011
Oh, Tammy, so very, very sorry…I know how hard it is to let go of a beloved pet/friend – my thoughts are with you – hugs!
6.14.2011
xo
6.23.2011
I had to let my cat Spike go last year, he was 18. He was with me longer than any person has been….I miss him and just want to say, “Meow meow” to Spike.
7.12.2011
can’t .see.the screen. too many tears.
love you……..
8.31.2011
oh tammy, i’m so sorry. i’ve lost a pet, too, and it is devastating. i had the same reaction of being so grateful for all the pictures i’d taken of the furball. i’m thinking of you.